Friday, June 5, 2015

The Health Ministry under UPA-I had 'ignored' Sharad Pawar-led JPC report on Coke,
Pepsi...instead had "decided to seek a second opinion from a committee of
government officers".

The then Health Minister and PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss had allegedly
tried to "pass the buck to either Water Resources or Environment
ministry".
((SUCH WAS THE EFFICIENCY OF MANMOHAN SINGH
REGIME....sickularism@lickurasim.com)

Amid hyped row over Maggi
noodles, consumer activists and even political leaders say

the contamination in food
items is not a new phenomenon in India as similar controversy had affected major consumer items
like Coke, Pepsi cold drinks and also Cadbury chocolates and milk in the past.

FDA Maharashtra had stuck against chocolate brand in Mumbai and parts of Maharashtra in 2003.

However, what is vital today is to ask why did Maggi trouble surface yet again?

One safe and sound observation is "ignoring" the strong recommendations of the 15-member JPC, headed by NCP stalwart Sharad
Pawar on cold drinks about a decade back was "blunder".

The JPC headed by Pawar was
constituted during the erstwhile Vajpayee government when the controversy on Coke and
Pepsi had broken. The present External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who was Health
Minister under PM Atal Behari Vajpayee in 2003, had initiated steps to set up a JPC to be
headed by NCP leader Pawar.

In fact, she announced that because the controversy on cola drinks were serious and linked to people's 'habits', an opposition member should head the JPC.

Thanks to UPA: Modi regime needs lot of cleaning to do !!

But thanks to 'SICKULAR' REGIME OF HONEST PM Dr Manmohan Singh !!

The panel headed by
Pawar even had worked hard and produced a good report. The JPC’s crucial suggestion about fixing stringent
standards for carbonated beverages was
not implemented. JPC recommendation to seek complete freedom from pesticide residues in
sweetened aerated water was also ignored.

This was perhaps a blunder cannot be simply attributed to human lapses.

There is a cloud about such moves as both BJP and the CPI-M had charged the then UPA-I regime with being 'motivated' and 'influenced' by external forces.

The
Health Ministry under UPA-I had 'ignored' the JPC report and instead had "decided
to seek a second opinion from a committee of government officers".

The matter was referred to
the National Level Expert Group to guide Pesticide Residues Sub-Committee of Central Committee for Food
Standards (CFS).

In fact, the
Action Taken Report of the union Health Ministry when presented

in Parliament on December 9
(2005) had sparked off "much debate" both within both the Houses in Parliament and also
outside.

A BJP leader claimed that in
fact the Health Minister then under PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss had allegedly tried to "pass the buck
to either Water Resources or Environment ministry".

When the Bus was secular, efficiency was no yardstick

Such was efficiency of UPA regime where 'Saint Sonia's' words sounded Biblical and Rahul Gandhi, a young conscience keeper of the nation and above all Honest PM Manmohan Singh that the ATR by Health Ministry tried
to dismiss the JPC comments on
controlling pesticides in the sugar industry and sought to pass on the buck to Agriculture ministry then
incidentally being held by none other than Sharad Pawar himself.

Among other things, the
Pawar-led JPC had also suggested for monitoring of effluents from the
Coke factories

at Palakkad and
Plachimada. This was also hardly followed.

Ironically, in 2006 again the
controversy on Coke and Pepsi had resurfaced and the UPA government was again under attack
including from its supporting parties like the CPI-M.

In Lok Sabha, Mohammad Salim, (CPI-M) MP, had claimed the
Manmohan Singh government "inaction" against soft drink brands even three years after a joint parliamentary committee
(JPC) headed by Pawar submitted its report could only be explained by its
“collusion”.

The charge was, however, denied by the then Parliamentary
Affairs Minister P R Dasmunshi.

Where was the conscience keeper?

While the debate in Lok Sabha had turned emotive with a few
members dubbing the episode as a “cultural invasion”, others lamented that television commercials
promoting branded cold drinks were mostly misleading.

About Me

Author of 'Rainbows and Misty Sky: Windows to North East India';
'HEART ALONE' (A collection of short stories), 'Modi to Moditva: An Uncensored Truth' and other books, 'Ayodhya: Battle for Peace' (2011) ‘Godhra – A Journey To Mayhem’ (2004) and ‘The Talking Guns: North East India’ (2008).